In Christ, Experience Freedom
from Oppressive Burdens and
Enjoy True Rest.
“Now I will take the load from your shoulders;
I will free your hands from their heavy tasks." -Psalm 81:6
Have you felt the weight of the world on your shoulders lately? God desires to give you liberty. He doesn't want you to assume the burdens meant only for Christ.
When offering commentary on Psalm 81, Charles Spurgeon noted the following:
"Israel was the drudge and slave of Egypt, but God gave him liberty. It was by God alone that the nation was set free. Other peoples owe their liberties to their own efforts and courage, but Israel received its Magna Carta as a free gift of divine power. Truly may the Lord say of everyone of his freed men, I removed his shoulder from the burden. His hands were delivered from the pots. He was no longer compelled to carry earth, and mold it, and bake it; the earth basket was no more imposed upon the people, nor the tale of bricks exacted, for they came out into the open country where none could exact upon them. How typical all this is of the believer's deliverance from legal bondage, when, through faith, the burden of sin glides into the Savior's sepulcher, and the servile labors of self righteousness come to an end for ever."
Do your responsibilities feel heavier with each passing day so that you feel like Israel did when enslaved and heavily burdened in Egypt? Christ offers freedom and rest! We need only to repent and receive Him. Yes, I have good news for you. Actually, the best news of all time for you.
On the cross, Jesus Christ bore the weight of all our sins and burdens. And He invites us to throw all of our heaviest cares upon Him to carry. Yet how often do we look away from Christ and find excuses to assume responsibilities which are only His!
Isaiah 53:4-5 (AMP) makes it clear:
"But [in fact] He has borne our griefs,
And He has carried our sorrows and pains;
Yet we [ignorantly] assumed that He was stricken,
Struck down by God and degraded and humiliated [by Him].
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing];
The punishment [required] for our well-being fell on Him,
And by His stripes (wounds) we are healed."
To rest, we must accept Christ and His role as Savior and Lord. Jesus Christ alone reigns on the Throne and in the position of Savior and Lord. Let me explain what I mean: Sometimes, we forget our roles and God's role. God alone is God. We are created in His image. But God alone is God. He is the One who deserves all of our worship, all of our devotion, and all of our trust.
Sometimes, we begin to assume that we need to bear the weight of what Christ alone can carry. Yes, we must come alongside each other and bear one another's burdens. (Galatians 6:2 says, "Carry one another’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the requirements of the law of Christ [that is, the law of Christian love].")
Yet we must not assume the full weight of what is to be given to God alone. We must return to the meaning of John 3:16 and embrace I Peter 5:7.
I Peter 5:7 (AMP) reminds you and me to be "casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully]."
Take time to focus on this direct quote from God Himself as found in Psalm 81:6 (NLT):
“Now I will take the load from your shoulders;
I will free your hands from their heavy tasks."
Today, let's take advantage of God's tremendous offer to bear our burdens and cares. Let's take God's Word for it. He cares! And He is waiting for us to cast our cares on Him now.
